


The Princess of Literacy: A Loud House Fanfiction

by Alicorn8210



Category: The Loud House (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Discovering a Disorder, Dyslexia, Gen, Inspired by an Episode of the Show, Secrets, Sibling Love, Sibling Secrets, Siblings, chapters
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-17
Updated: 2020-08-05
Packaged: 2021-03-01 17:27:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,475
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23700802
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alicorn8210/pseuds/Alicorn8210
Summary: It's Lola Loud's first day of first grade, and she's nervous. However, that nervous feeling may only get worse when she discovers something new about herself...Inspired by the episode "Read Aloud", but not in any way tied to the canon of that episode...or the show, even, if we're going to be ultra-specific.
Comments: 1
Kudos: 3





	1. The Moments Before

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lola experiences some first-day jitters before entering the school building.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is inspired by the episode "Read Aloud". However, it's my own take on the situation; therefore, it's not tied to the canon of the episode. Anyway, with that out of the way, enjoy!

Lola Loud wasn’t sure what she was feeling.

It was like her brain had placed all of her emotions in all the wrong places, and was now frantically running around, trying to find where everything was. Lola had been in that situation multiple times, although she wasn’t proud of that fact.

Her mom, being the mom of eleven children, seven of whom had already dealt with the stress of entering first grade, picked up on Lola’s nervous energy.

“Don’t worry, sweetie,” Rita Loud reassured her third youngest. “You’ll be just fine. Trust me-I know,”

Lola knew that her mom knew, but that didn’t really make the butterflies in her stomach change course. She would’ve felt better if she had been told exactly what was going to happen. Of course, she knew that wasn’t an option.

Lincoln, her older brother, stepped out of the car and turned to Lola. “Do you want me to walk in with you?” he offered.

“Uh, NO! Come on, Lincoln-I’m not a baby!” Lola suddenly snapped, making Lincoln jump. Honestly, why did he have to baby her like that?! She was six!

But if Lola was being honest with herself, she DID kind of want Lincoln to walk her in. But there were so many people watching, listening, judging.

But Lola had a little time to wait, as Lana, her twin sister, wasn’t out of the car yet.

Rita was getting annoyed. “Honey, what’s taking so long?!” Rita was trying to hide the stress in her voice.

“I can’t find my lucky booger!” Lana replied, frantically yet carefully looking around the car. She checked her pockets one more time. Her face changed to a look of confused curiosity. “Oh, wait...here it is!” She pulled out a little box. It looked like the kind of box an engagement ring would come in. She quickly opened the lid to make sure her prized possession was in there, then jumped out of the car.

“You’re disgusting,” Lola had a look of angry disgust.

Lana didn’t seem to mind the comment, or even hear it, for that matter. In fact, she looked at Lola with kind eyes.

“Don’t be nervous, Lola,” Lana wrapped her arm around Lola. “You’ll be fine! We’re in this together!”

Lola took a deep breath (well, it was more like a sigh than anything) and walked with Lana into the school.

Little did she know what was ahead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've got several things in the works, and this is at the bottom of my list; I just wanted to get it out since it was the only thing I had in a mostly publishable state. Once other things are finished, this will probably get updated.
> 
> Hope you enjoyed! Kudos, bookmarks, and comments about what you liked are GREATLY appreciated!


	2. The Discovery

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lola's first day of school has a surprise waiting for her...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FINALLY! After AAAAAALL the unexpected support this little story has gotten (SERIOUSLY, WHICH ONE OF YOU SUBSCRIBED TO IT?! I LOVE YOU!), I have UPDATED! Of course, this is only due to the fact that the random name picker wheel I found selected this as the next of my chapter stories to be updated. Do you actually think I have the mental resilience to get past my mental roadblock and UPDATE THIS ON MY OWN MERITS?! HAH! Oh, you naive and innocent reader(s)-how I wish I was more like you!
> 
> Anyway, with that strange yet somewhat necessary rant out of the way, enjoy this long-awaited chapter!

Lola entered her 1st-grade classroom as if she were entering a mysterious portal that had suddenly appeared in her room out of nowhere-hesitantly and nervously, yet with a dash of curiosity and excitement mixed in. Of course, in this scenario, the hesitance, nervosity, and curiosity greatly overpowered the excitement.

As she entered, her eyes darted around the strange new room, picking up on its white brick walls, its speckled tile floor, its brown wooden cabinets occupying the back. She stepped on the fuzzy blue carpet, and rubbed her hand along the arm of the rocking chair that looked exactly how you’d expect a rocking chair to look.

Lana, standing by her side, was also looking around, but she had more of an excited kind of curiosity in her examination of the classroom than an awestruck yet still somewhat apprehensive kind like Lola. Yet another example of how, despite being identical twins with only two minutes between their introduction into the world, these two were as different as can be.

The two approached the rows of child-sized desks. Each smooth wooden desk with metal legs and support beams had a colorful nametag taped on it; on each one, a student’s name had been printed in large letters with a permanent marker.

Lana quickly found her name. She sat down and glanced at the desk next to her. A smile crept onto her face. Patting the seat of said desk, she happily exclaimed, “Lola! We have seats next to each other! Come sit down!”

“That’s great, Lana!” Lola replied, a smile on her face. Being able to face the uncertain experience of 1st grade with her twin sister by her side made her feel a little less afraid.

Once every student had sat down, a young woman, whom Lola had only just noticed had been sitting at a desk in the corner of the classroom, stepped to the front of the class, standing on the fuzzy blue rug. Lola took a moment to inspect her. She had a nice face with gray-green eyes that had a grace yet also an energy, and which were covered by black pointy glasses. Her hair was a dark brown bob on the top of her head that looked very soft and smooth. Her outfit consisted of a silver-gray sweater, a black pencil skirt, and black high heels. Needless to say, she had the teacher look down squat.

“Good morning, everyone!” the woman said as Lola finished her quick little examination of her. “Welcome to the 1st grade! My name is Mrs. Striplotsky, and I will be your teacher for the next 8½ months,”

A young boy all the way across the room from Lola raised his hand.

“But, if you must know, my first name is Tina,” Mrs. Striplotsky said.

The boy put his hand down.

 _What is she-a psychic or something?_ Lola internally questioned, a little bit shocked at her new teacher’s supposed intuitiveness.

“Now, I’m sure you’re all a little anxious about today. And, well, I’m here to tell you that...I am, too. In fact, all of the teachers here are,”

Lola was a little bit shocked. Did teachers REALLY get nervous on the first day, too?!

“The first day of a new school year, no matter what the circumstances, is an uncertain and scary experience for EVERYONE; I mean, even your PARENTS are probably nervous! They don’t know how you’ll feel or be or act in this classroom, despite their most important job being to protect you and keep safe! Sounds stressful, doesn’t it?”

That made Lola think. If parents that have just ONE kid feel stressed out when they send them off to the first day of school, she couldn’t even IMAGINE how HER parents must feel, having to deal with ELEVEN first days at ONCE! How could they even MANAGE that?!

“Now, before we start the day, I’m going to see if everyone is here. This will always be the first thing we do when we enter the classroom-well, besides sitting down, of course,” Mrs. Striplotsky giggled a little at her own joke. Lola giggled a little, too, although she didn’t quite know why.

Looking at a clipboard she was holding, Mrs. Striplotsky began to read off the names of the students.

“Tyler Arellano?”

“Here!” the same boy who had raised his hand before called out, his hand up once again.

Mrs. Striplotsky checked the name off her list.

“Johnny Bloggs?”

“Here!” a boy in the back called out.

“Rania Bonilla?”

“Here!” a girl right behind Lola exclaimed.

Lola waited as the names kept coming.

“Noor Corona?”

“Here!”

“Kimora Delarosa?”

“Here!”

“Elvis Diaz?”

Intrigued by the name, Lola turned her head when she heard “Here!” being called out from not too far behind her. But the boy didn’t look one bit like Elvis. If anything, he looked more like young Michael Jackson.

“Kitty Edmonds?”

“Here!”

 _Ooh-Kitty! What a pretty name!_ Lola thought to herself. _And a cute one, too!_

“Meredith Fitzpatrick?”

“Here!”

 _Another pretty name,_ Lola thought as she looked at the girl. She loved her orange hair and freckled face.

“Della and Nella Haigh?”

“Here!” two tan girls with black braids chirped at the same time, smiling little white smiles.

 _Another set of twins?_ Lola thought. _And their names are so similar! Just like me and Lana! Except WE don’t have the same outfits, and THEY do!_

By the time Lola had left her thoughts, she had missed a few names.

“Wanda Hood?”

“Here!” a girl two seats to the right from Lola called out. She had short, straight blonde hair, round purple glasses, and a purple jean jacket. Lola thought it was a cute outfit, but not QUITE as cute as hers.

 _After all…_ Lola thought to herself, _I’m a freaking PAGEANT QUEEN! Style is in my BLOOD!_

More names came until, finally, Mrs. Striplotsky said, “Lana and Lola Loud?”

Both girls quickly shouted, “Here!”

After all of the names had been called, Mrs. Striplotsky said, “Wow! Everyone’s here! How nice! That’s great, especially for the first day!” She put down her clipboard. “Now, I want you guys to learn how a normal day in this classroom will go, so let’s start with the first activity of the day-the Morning Meeting!”

Mrs. Striplotsky pointed to the rug. “Everyone, come sit on the rug!”

All the students immediately jumped out of their seats and ran to the rug, quickly finding a seat. Lola and Lana sat right next to each other, of course, and so did Della and Nella, the other twins.

Mrs. Striplotsky had wheeled a small whiteboard over to the rug, sitting in her chair and grabbing a pointer with a cartoonish human hand as the pointing part.

“Now, the Morning Meeting is where we read the date and the day’s plans off of this whiteboard,” Mrs. Striplotsky explained. “I’ll point to the words, and we’ll read along together,”

The class joined Mrs. Striplotsky in reading off the board, which read, “It is Monday, September 1st, 2017. Today, we will be learning about what we will be doing in Mrs. Striplotsky’s 1st Grade Classroom,”

The only one not reading, however, was Lola. When she looked at the board, all she saw were squiggly lines. No matter how hard she looked at them, she couldn’t make out anything comprehensible. It looked like some weird alien language.

Lola looked around at her other classmates reading the board. How could they understand the squiggles?

Once all the kids were done reading, Mrs. Striplotsky turned from the board to the students. She saw Lola’s desperate look.

“Are you OK, dear?” Mrs. Striplotsky asked, snapping Lola out of her trance.

“Oh-nothing!” Lola lied. “I just, uh, zoned out for a little bit! Sorry!”

Mrs. Striplotsky was still a bit suspicious, but ignored it and simply responded, “It’s OK, dear. Don’t worry about it,”

Mrs. Striplotsky then turned to the rest of the class. “OK, everyone!” she announced. “Go back to your seats, and I’ll hand out your supplies!”

Everyone bolted back to their seats, except for Lola. Lola simply walked, slightly slumped over. Mrs. Striplotsky noticed.

Lola didn’t know what to do. What had happened? Why couldn’t she read the board?

Was…

Was there something wrong with her?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First off, sorry if the whole attendance bit was too long-I just really liked the names that came up on the random name generator I pulled up. I’ll be sure to keep it in mind if you guys don’t like it.
> 
> Also, I have a funny story about Della and Nella! When I pulled up the generator, one of the names was “Della Haigh”. However, one of the other names was “Nella”. Thinking this was an opportunity too good to miss, I disregarded the last name and just made Della and Nella twins.
> 
> As for the girl named Wanda? Well...that may be a shoutout to a CERTAIN AO3 user whom I love dearly…
> 
> And then there's a kid with the last name "Corona". I appreciate a good sense of humor, name-generator.org.uk/quick/, but I think that joke might've been a little TOO timely...
> 
> Hope you enjoyed! Kudos, bookmarks, and comments about what you liked are GREATLY appreciated!


	3. Secrets

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The school day has ended, and Lola isn't feeling so good. But she's not about to go and tell anyone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, all. I know it’s been FOREVER (or even longer than that) since I’ve updated this story, but I’ve made a commitment to myself to complete every story that I’ve started, and that includes this one. So here you go. Enjoy! 😊

The final bell rang. Excited, antsy children flooded out of the doors. Some piled into big yellow buses, some hopped on bicycles and tricycles, and some entered cars of all shapes and sizes. Lola and Lana Loud fit into the last category, climbing into Vanzilla, a 70s Volkswagen van that looked like it was about to fall apart at any given moment. And, well, that wasn’t too far off.

And just in case you’re wondering where Lisa, Lucy, and Lincoln were, Lisa had left early due to an important meeting with the Nobel Committee regarding this year’s honorees, and Rita and Lynn, Sr. had a rule that only second graders and older could ride the school bus, due to an...unfortunate accident that occurred when Lincoln was in first grade that will not be expounded upon any further for the sake of not traumatizing you.

Anyway, Lola and Lana greeted their mother as they always did, but there was an obvious difference between the two of them. While Lana greeted her mother with a peppy chipperness that always followed her, Lola did not greet her mother with the prissy attitude she carried around with her. Instead, she moved her body with a lethargic kind of motivation that neither Lana nor Rita had ever seen before.

Lola slumped down in her seat, a look on her face that mixed introspection with sadness with shame. It was a truly puzzling expression to look at.

“Sweetie?” Rita asked, deeply concerned for her daughter. “What’s wrong?”

Lola just mumbled, “Nothing. I’m doing just fine,”

“Come on, Lola,” Lana put her hand on her sister’s shoulder. “If something’s bothering you, you can tell us,”

“I’m fine, Lana,” Lola quietly whined.

Suddenly, the car stopped. “Lana, we’re at the dump. Go meet up with your friends, and I’ll pick you back up at 5,”

“OK, Mom!” Lana replied happily. She quickly looked over at Lola with the eyes of a concerned sister, which was what she was at the moment. “We’ll talk about this when I get home, OK?”

Despite Lola not responding in any way, shape, or form, Lana still told herself that the answer was “yes”. And with that, she jumped out of the car, closed the door, and ran off to meet her friends.

After she started driving again, Rita turned back to her daughter. “Now, honey, would you mind telling me what’s wrong?”

“Mom, I already told you that I’m  fine,” Lola was clearly getting annoyed at all of the questions she was being asked.

“But, honey, look at you!” Rita’s voice was trying to show Lola that all she wanted was to help. “Your face, your posture, even your voice! Something’s clearly bothering you,”

Lola glanced off to the side with agitated eyes. “I think you’re just reading too much into it,” she quipped with a low hiss.

“Trust me, dear. I’ve had  eleven kids. I  know when someone’s upset. You can’t fool me,”

Lola was getting very impatient with her mother. “Well, tough luck, ‘cause I’M not telling you ANYTHING!”

Rita’s first instinct was to raise her voice and force her daughter to tell her what was bothering her, but then she stopped herself and realized that, not only would that only make things worse, but that wasn’t really the right thing to do.

So instead, she spoke calmly. “Well, dear, if you’re not comfortable with telling me, then I won’t force you to. But just know that I care about you and always want to help you no matter what. And I’m your mother-there’s no reason to feel embarrassed about telling me something. Understand?”

Lola just nodded and mumbled a response. Nothing her mother had just said changed her mind, but she had to pretend that it did.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

When they got home, Lola immediately went upstairs and shut herself in her room. She needed some alone time to think about what had happened that day. Her mind replayed the event over and over and over again. She had taken a mental picture of the whiteboard, but no matter how much she analyzed it, it was no use. She just couldn’t understand what was on it.

 _I...I can’t read!_ Lola thought to herself. _I can’t believe it-I can’t read! Oh, what am I gonna_ _DO_ _?!_

Lola had been so lost in her thoughts, she hadn’t realized that her immediately storming up to her room had caused her siblings to get worried. Before long, she heard a knock at her bedroom door.

“GO AWAY!” she yelled, not liking her thought spiral getting interrupted.

“Lola, it’s me, Lincoln!” Lincoln exclaimed, his voice slightly muffled by the door.

“I KNOW that! That’s WHY I said ‘GO AWAY’!” Lola responded just as loudly as before.

“Wait, how could you tell it was me just by hearing me knock on your door?” Lincoln questioned, confused.

“Because I’m psychic, Lincoln,” Lola bit back sarcastically, fed up with this back-and-forth.

“Wait,  really?!” Lincoln sounded oddly excited by this.

“No, Lincoln. Ugh, can you REALLY not understand SARCASM?!”

“Oh. Sorry. It’s hard to tell through the door. Maybe that means I should come in?”

“Nice try, Lincoln, but if you come in here, I’m telling Dad you clogged the toilet again!”

Lola could practically HEAR Lincoln’s sudden panic.

“Okaaaaay, on second thought, maybe I’ll just leave. Bye!” And with that, Lincoln was gone. Finally.

Lola, having gotten rid of him, continued to think.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was 5:15, exactly two hours since Lola had gotten home. She was still locked away in her room, and Lincoln, having attempted to help her and failing miserably, had warned the other siblings not to try and talk to her.

Still, there was the inevitable fact that Lana would eventually come home and have to deal with Lola. And now, at 5:15, was that eventuality.

Covered in dirt, mud, and other disgusting things she loved, Lana went upstairs to her and Lola’s room. But before she could enter, she noticed all of her siblings staring at her.

“What?” she asked both innocently and confusedly.

Everyone, too nervous and scared to answer, darted into their respective rooms.

Lana scoffed. “Rude,” she muttered. Then she opened her bedroom door.

Inside was Lola, sitting on her bed, slumped over with that same glum, introspective face Lana had seen in the car. It broke her heart, concerned her, and intrigued her all at the same time.

Lola looked up and turned her head to face the door. “Ugh! I  THOUGHT I  TOLD YOU to-” She stopped when she noticed that it was Lana that had entered the room. “Oh. Hi, Lana,”

“Hey there, Lols!” Lana replied. She then walked over to her. “How’ve you been doing?”

Lola bent back over and placed her elbows on her thighs in a sort of “thinking” position. Sighing, she said, “Fine, I guess,”

Lana still wasn’t convinced. “Lola, can you please tell me what’s wrong?”

“I already  TOLD you-NO!” Lola shouted, making Lana stumble back a bit at the sheer power of her voice.

“Come on, Lols!” Lana begged. “You’re my sister! I need to know whether or not you’re OK!”

“NO, you  DON’T!” Lola retorted back. She was not about to let Lana break her down. “You don’t need to do  ANYTHING! In  FACT, why don’t you just  LEAVE and let me be  BY MYSELF?!”

“No  way!” Lana replied (quite boldly, I might add-after all, this is LOLA we’re talking about here). “I’m not leaving until  you tell me why you’ve been acting like this all day!”

Lola was a bit taken back by Lana’s sudden boldness, but she still wasn’t giving up. “Oh, yeah?” she sassed. And with that, she lunged at Lana.

And thus began the battle of the century. Both Lana and Lola put all they had into it, but for some reason, Lola just couldn’t seem to overpower Lana. After a good 10 minutes of nothing but punching and biting and kicking and hair-pulling, Lola finally had to stop and catch her breath.

Lana stood there, quite pleased with herself. That was some of the best fighting she had ever done, and now Lola had no choice but to fess up.

“Now are you ready to tell me?” Lana asked, a bit of smugness in her tone.

Lola inhaled and exhaled quickly, clearly out of breath. “N-no,” she resisted. “I-I’m n-not gonna t-tell you,”

“Oh, yeah?” Lana echoed, getting ready to pounce on Lola.

“Wait, stop!” Lola shouted. She paused as soon as she said it. Lola NEVER backed down from a fight. And I mean NEVER. But she was so out of breath, and her muscles were so beaten and sore, that her body had involuntarily made her refuse to continue.

Lola sat down on her bed and sighed. “Just…” she began. “Can you  please promise not to tell anyone?”

Lana sat down next to her. “Of course, Lola,” she responded genuinely, smiling.

“Thanks,” Lola said quietly. “So this is what happened: remember when we did that Morning Meeting thing at school today?”

“Yes?” Lana replied.

“Well…” Lola seemed as though she was both embarrassed and she was trying to find the right words to describe what had happened. “When Mrs. Striplotsky had us read the board, I…” She paused, clearly ashamed of herself. “I couldn’t understand any of what was written,”

“What?!” Lana exclaimed. “You mean…”

“I...I don’t think I can read, Lana,” Lola sounded as though she was about to cry. And indeed, Lana could see water forming in her eyelids. But she quickly sniffed the tears back in.

Lana put her hand on Lola’s shoulder. “It’ll be OK, Lola,” Lana comforted. “Are you sure you don’t want to tell anyone? I’m sure someone would be able to help you,”

“NO, Lana,  PLEASE!” Lola begged, once again on the verge of tears. “You don’t understand how important it is to me that you don’t tell  anyone about this!”

Lana sighed, but in a way that Lola couldn’t notice. “Don’t worry, Lola,” Lana replied. “I promise,”

Lola sniffed again. “Thanks, Lana,” she muttered softly, a small smile on her face. And with that, the twin siblings embraced.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aww...isn’t that sweet? Can’t wait to see what happens next to these cuties!
> 
> Hope you enjoyed! Kudos, bookmarks, and comments about what you liked are GREATLY appreciated!


End file.
